More

Holocaust Museum Marks Kristallnacht Anniversary

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is commemorating its 10th Anniversary from April 2003 to April 2004 through programs that underscore the resonance and urgency of the lessons of the Holocaust for today's world 11 June, 2003, in Washington, DC. TIM SLOAN/AFP PHOTO TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is marking the anniversary of a seminal event in the history of the Holocaust.

On Thursday, four Washington-area Holocaust survivors organized a gathering with German Ambassador Peter Ammon to mark the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

On Nov. 9 and 10 in 1938, Nazi officials, Storm Troopers and others carried out a campaign of anti-Jewish violence in Germany.

The events came to be known as Kristallnacht in reference to the countless broken windows in synagogues and stores and homes plundered during the violence. At least 91 Jews were killed at the time.

The museum says German civilians’ passive reaction signaled to Nazi leaders that the public was prepared for more extreme measures, leading to the Holocaust.